The Boston Bruins are going to experience significant roster changes this offseason based on the sheer amount of salary cap space they’re holding headed into this summer’s NHL free agency period.
That is undeniable with the Bruins taking an “aggressive” approach as a buyer on the upcoming market.
But the one position that’s likely to see the least amount of turnover and change is at the defensemen spot where Boston boasts a solid foundation of talented, established blueliners currently under contract with the Black and Gold.
Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo serve as the top 4 pillars for the Bruins, and inexpensive, young D-men Andrew Peeke and Parker Wotherspoon are signed for next season as well. If 23-year-old Mason Lohrei is also viewed as a bona fide NHL defenseman at this point, then the Bruins already have six established, proven NHL defensemen signed for next year even before they get into free agency and trades this offseason.
And you can be sure that the B’s view the offensively gifted, highly skilled Lohrei as having an NHL job waiting for him next season after posting four goals and 13 points in 41 games last season before performing very well in 11 Stanley Cup playoff games this spring. In fact, there were times when Lohrei was the most effective defenseman breaking the puck out against the heavy Florida forecheck despite some very clear defensive areas where he’ll need to mature and improve at over time, particularly if he wants to be a top-4 guy at the NHL level.
“It's been incredible. I was just telling my parents that it’s the most fun I've had playing hockey with the playoff run we had,” said Lohrei. “Being able to come in and jump into a role and run with it is huge for confidence going into the summer. It gives me a lot of motivation to stay at it.
“Everything [in Boston] is first class. It's truly an honor to play here and wear that Spoked B on my chest, playing in front of the best fans in hockey. So much support from [the fans], and then just the guys in this locker room. I mean, that's really that's really what makes it so special here. I obviously haven't been anywhere else, but hearing other guys talk about how special it is and coming in they made me feel so welcomed right from the start.”
McAvoy leads the blueline corps and posted a solid year with 12 goals and 47 points in 74 games and had his moments with a goal and six points in 13 playoff games while playing a physical, rugged style in all situations. He also finished with a minus-4 in the playoffs which isn’t ideal for a top-pair defenseman and logged a massive 25:35 of ice time in the playoffs while doing everything for the Black and Gold.
Some believe that perhaps McAvoy plays too heavy of a workload in the playoffs where he’s targeted by other teams and wears down a bit given the style that he plays, but there is zero doubt that he’s the most talented defensemen and the unquestioned No. 1 guy at the top of Boston’s back end.
“For quite a long time, the other team targeted Ray Bourque every goddamn night. Let's be honest, that's what happens in the playoffs,” said Don Sweeney, who saw that attention the Hall of Famer received up close as his defensive partner in Boston. “[Opponents] know what key components on other rosters are, and they're going to try and attack it. That's an opportunity for other players to take a step forward. Charlie [McAvoy] embraces that opportunity to play against the best players and to hopefully stare them down.
“Then that is continued evolution… Pasta [David Pastrnak] faces arguably the hardest matchups that he's going to face. That's what the playoffs are, and we're trying to do the exact same thing to the other side. In Charlie [McAvoy’s] case, we persevered, and against Florida we fell short. That’s why we're not playing [in the playoffs anymore] and we need to continue to do a better job.”
Lindholm is a bit of an X-factor for this team as the other top-of-the-blueline workhorse that finally broke through with a big playoff performance in Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs where he scored a goal and set up David Pastrnak’s overtime game-winner.
Outstanding call by Sean McDonough on the Pastrnak game 7 overtime winner for the Bruins👊
— Jack Benjamin (@JackBenjaminPxP) May 5, 2024
Great stuff from one of the best play-by-play voices in the business, regardless of sport🫡pic.twitter.com/T7tULLJKTc
That game ended a long goalless streak for Lindholm in the playoffs as a member of the Boston Bruins.
But it’s also been very notable that Lindholm struggled at times under the heavy pressure of Florida in the playoffs. Peeke had a strong opening few months in Boston as a mean and nasty shutdown defenseman that’s signed for the next couple of years, and Wotherspoon has earned himself an NHL job as a similarly slotted shutdown D-man.
The makeup of the B’s defensemen corps, however, could likely be at their best by adding one more veteran blueliner to the mix that would push Wotherspoon into more of a seventh defensemen role. That would open up one spot, likely a left-shot defenseman, for the Bruins to pursue this offseason while likely watching Matt Grzelcyk, Kevin Shattenkirk and Derek Forbort move on after strong stints in Boston.
The question is who that player is going to end up being. Ryan McDonagh would have been the perfect kind of rugged, experienced defenseman if the Bruins were going the trade route, but, of course, Tampa Bay jumped all over that in a return trade from the Nashville Predators last week. Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei has been a name tossed around as a possible free-agent option and the B’s could do a lot worse than a 30-year-old blueliner that posted 13 goals and 47 points in 80 games last season making $5.25 million per season.
Many will look at Boston’s paltry 2.38 goals per game in the postseason as a situation in need of impact, offense-producing forwards, and that is mostly true. But adding another free-wheeling, puck-moving defenseman with some offensive talent would also go a long way toward helping them in all zones as well.
So that will obviously be a situation to keep an eye on as NHL free agency opens up at the beginning of July.
There will absolutely be names mentioned as trade possibilities as well as the NHL offseason gets up to full speed, but Boston’s shopping list for D-men isn’t going to be nearly as extensive as the forwards they will be chasing this summer. That’s because the Bruins already have a strong hand that they only need to make one addition to while waving goodbye to a number of familiar faces from the last handful of years.